Coronavirus pandemic cancels Wimbledon; 1st time since WWII match won't be played

Angelique Kerber of Germany (R) speaks with Serena Williams of The United States after the Ladies' Singles final on day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

LONDON - Wimbledon was canceled on Wednesday because of the coronavirus pandemic, the first time since World War II that the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament won't be played.

The All England Club announced after an emergency meeting that the event it refers to simply as The Championships is being scrapped for 2020.

Wimbledon was scheduled to be played on the club's grass courts on the outskirts of London from June 29 to July 12.

Instead, the next edition of the tournament will be June 28 to July 11, 2021.

The tournament was first held in 1877 and has been contested every year since, with the exception of two stretches: from 1915-18 because of World War I, and from 1940-45 because of World War II.

It now joins the growing list of sports events scrapped completely in 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

That includes the Tokyo Olympics - which have been pushed back 12 months -( and the NCAA men's and women's college basketball tournaments.

Advertisement

Wimbledon is the first major tennis championship completely wiped out this year because of the coronavirus. The start of the French Open was postponed from late May to late September.

As of now, the U.S. Open is still scheduled to be played in New York from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13.